[URBANTH-L]ANN: Inside-Out Prison Exchange Conference (Indiana)

jancius at ohio.edu jancius at ohio.edu
Fri Aug 15 13:23:00 EDT 2008


From: Society for the Anthropology of North America <sana.membership at gmail.com>
 
Dear Colleague, 

We are writing to let you know about an exciting opportunity to bring a new kind
of learning to the students at your institution.  On October 2 nd -3 rd , 2008,
we will be holding a conference entitled, “The Inside-Out Prison Exchange:
Expanding the Boundaries of Learning” at the IUPUI campus in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program was initially established at Temple
University in Philadelphia in 1997 in order to create a dynamic partnership
between institutions of higher learning and correctional systems.  Inside-Out
classes bring  college students together with incarcerated men and women to
study as peers in a seminar held behind prison walls.  Inside-Out courses
provide a life-altering experience that allows students to rethink what they
have learned in the classroom, gaining insights that will help them to better
pursue the goal of creating a more effective, humane and restorative criminal
justice system.  At the same time, the Inside-Out program challenges men and
women on the inside to place their life experiences in a  larger social context;
 it also rekindles their intellectual self-confidence and interest in further
education, and encourages them to recognize their capacity as agents of change –
in their own lives as well as in the broader community.

In 2003, supported by a Soros Justice Senior Fellowship, Inside-Out founder Lori
Pompa took Inside-Out nationwide. The first Inside-Out National Instructor 
Training Institute, held in July 2004, was attended by instructors from a dozen
states. To date, 57 instructors from 44 colleges and universities nationwide
have been trained in this pedagogical approach. 

Inside-Out Indiana was established in 2006, when two instructors from IUPUI,
Roger Jarjoura (Criminal Justice) and Susan Hyatt (Anthropology) completed the
Inside-Out instructor training.  In Summer 2007, Jarjoura and Hyatt co-taught
the first Inside-Out Indiana class at a local men’s facility, the Plainfield
Re-entry Educational Facility (PREF).  In Spring 2008, Jarjoura taught another
class at PREF and during Summer 2008, Jarjoura and Hyatt co-taught a class at
the Indiana Women’s Prison.  At the conference, Inside-Out founder Lori Pompa
will give a keynote address in the evening of Thursday, October 2 nd .  On
Friday, October 3 rd , you will have the opportunity to meet both “outside”
students (from IUPUI) and “inside” (incarcerated) students  who have
participated in these courses along with Inside-Out instructors from neighboring
states who will discuss their experiences with this transformative pedagogy.

As founder Lori Pompa always says, “This kind of learning changes  lives.”  To
that, we would also add that “this kind of teaching also changes lives.”  It has
changed our lives as faculty members and we urge you to join us in this
discussion.  Inside-Out courses have been taught in a range of disciplines,
including Criminal Justice, Anthropology, Political Science, English and History
so we invite you to forward this message on to any colleagues who may be
interested in exploring this approach to teaching and learning. 

For more information, please contact us at:  inout at iupui.edu  Registration
materials will soon be available through that address.  The cost of the
conference is free for students, $10.00 for everyone else.

We look forward to welcoming you to Indianapolis in October.


Susan Hyatt, Anthropology                   
                        
Roger Jarjoura, Criminal Justice


Susan B. Hyatt
Associate  Professor of Anthropology
IUPUI
413 Cavanaugh Hall
425 University Blvd.
Indianapolis, IN  46220
(317) 278-4548




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